What if time is more than the passing of moments? What if it’s a gift to help us find meaning? And what if the Christian life–in which death itself starts working backwards–can change our experience of past, present, and future? Grief and joy? Memory and expectation? This chapter of our series explores the gift of time—a gift we will explore further in Imagination Redeemed 2022 in September.

Each month during our 2022 “Why We Create” series, we will explore one theme within the overall topic; with teaching in the form of essays, with stories that expand our imaginations to encounter this part of God’s truth, and with a dialogue of subsequent conversations and art. To browse the continuing series, visit its homepage here.




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This month’s teaching, stories, and conversation

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Gardening: Learning from the Ground
Gardening: Learning from the Ground

The cohosts discuss how the many garden-related and cultivating-related themes and metaphors in the Bible may begin to make more sense through the practical experience of getting our hands dirty and paying attention to the things that grow in the ground.

Interview: The Making of an Audio Drama with The Merry Beggars
Interview: The Making of an Audio Drama with The Merry Beggars

Matt sits down with Peter Atkinson and Kiley Hatch of the Merry Beggars to talk about the making of their 21-part radio drama On the Night Train.

Interview: Making Your Home an Outpost of Grace and Beauty with Elyce Westby
Interview: Making Your Home an Outpost of Grace and Beauty with Elyce Westby

Cohost of Believe to See Christina Brown sits down with fellow Anselm Arts Guild member Elyce Westby to talk about the importance of cultivating a narrative of beauty in your home.

Pub Night: The Golden Key
Pub Night: The Golden Key

At the Anselm Society's July Pub Night, Christina presents her retelling of George MacDonald's story The Golden Key.

Interview: Story, Trauma, and Faith with Sam Jolman
Interview: Story, Trauma, and Faith with Sam Jolman

Matt and Believe to See's producer, Jesse Childress, sit down with Sam Jolman to talk about how our relationships, life experiences, and trauma can shape our imaginations.

Wanting to Doubt Shakespeare
Wanting to Doubt Shakespeare

For centuries, Shakespeare has been widely accepted as the greatest writer in our language's history. For much of that time, maverick thinkers have argued that William Shakespeare didn't actually write his plays. One of those maverick thinkers is Mandy’s daughter, Bethany. She joins the table for a no-holds-barred debate with Matt about the authorship of Shakespeare. After the dust settles, the hosts explore the reasons why so many people feel compelled to doubt Shakespeare.

Finding Meaning in Time
Finding Meaning in Time

What is time, and how does time work in the context of story? As part of Anselm’s “Why We Create” series, our own Jane Scharl wrote an amazing essay on the nature of time. At the pub table, Matthew and Mandy use that article as a launchpad for discussing the use of time in fiction.

Interview: What Makes a Children's Story Timeless?
Interview: What Makes a Children's Story Timeless?

Sometimes, a beloved book or movie from childhood means just as much to you as an adult. Other times, going back to childhood stories makes you cringe. Why are some children's stories timeless, while others are time-bound? And can knowing the difference inform the stories we share with the kids in our lives? To answer these questions, Matthew goes to a trusted authority on children's stories: his wife, Danielle.

Pub Night: Smith of Wooton Major
Pub Night: Smith of Wooton Major

At the Anselm Society's May Pub Night, author Leslie Bustard presents her retelling of JRR Tolkien's story Smith of Wooton Major. Later, Leslie and Matt discuss the story's theme of enchantment.